Gayle and Co. threaten to skip England series

Five senior West Indies players, including captain Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, have threatened to pull out of their country's tour of England in May and play in the IPL instead after their discussion with the board over pay dispute failed yet again.

The meeting between the West Indies Cricket Board and the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) ended on Tuesday after two days without reaching any agreement over pay dispute and in protest the players are now considering standing down from national duty, according to a cricket website.

The players, who were represented by WIPA President Dinanath Ramnarine, would be needing No Objection Certificates from the WICB first before taking part in the April 18-May 24 IPL to be held in South Africa.

West Indies' tour to England starts from April 21 and the first Test begins at Lord's from May 6. Players said they didn't get their full payments for the tour to New Zealand this winter and are awaiting payments for the England series.

They also want to know the length of time they can play in the IPL before joining the team in England, according to a cricket website.

The players also raised voices against the central contracts which are due to expire at the end of the England tour but new agreements are still not in place. The latest incident has hit domestic cricket.

Last Friday the players refused to take part in three domestic one-day matches, while the national team blanked out Digicel branding on their kit with masking tape during the ODI against England.

Ramnarine also resigned from the WICB executive committee last week in protest against the payment related dispute.